report

November 24, 2007

More Changes in National Security Council

Larijani's Deputy Resigns

Nearly a month after the resignation of Ali Larijani from his post at the Supreme National ‎Security Council (SNSC), Larijani's deputy, Rahmani Fazli, also resigned from his post. ‎According to official government reports, the new head of the SNSC, Saeed Jalili, has accepted ‎Fazli's resignation. ‎

Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli served as the cultural, social and media deputy at the SNSC. Fazli ‎served under Larijani as his political deputy during Larijani's 10-year reign at the Islamic ‎Republic's broadcasting company (IRIB). Fazli was among the few people that accompanied ‎Larijani during his move from the IRIB to the SNSC. ‎

After losing the 2005 presidential election, Larijani was appointed to take over from Hassan ‎Rowhani as the head of the SNSC. In addition to Rahman Fazli, Larijani brought with him ‎Hossein Entezami as his public relations assistant. ‎

Fazli's resignation confirms recent rumors of a house cleaning following Larijani's departure ‎from the SNSC. Analysts speculate that President Ahmadinejad's plans to appoint forces loyal to ‎him to serve on the SNSC go beyond Larijani's removal. ‎

Further confirming such rumors was a strange report, first published on Raja News, a website ‎affiliated with Ahmadinejad's hardline supporters. Contradicting official reports that attributed ‎Larijani's resignation from the SNSC to "personal reasons," Raja News reported that President ‎Ahmadinejad fired Larijani because of the latter's repeated attempts to negotiate with the United ‎States."‎

Raja News wrote, "Continuing negotiations with the United States over Iraq's security was a ‎point of contention between the president and former head of the National Security Council, and ‎one of the reasons behind Mr. Larijani's resignation. Given the United States' continuation to ‎wreck havoc in Iraq, the president thought it was useless to continue negotiations." ‎

Previously, Fararoo website, which is affiliated with Ahmadinejad's conservative critics, reported ‎that all of Larijani's deputies would resign from the SNSC. The website also reported that Jalili ‎intends to fire more than half of the SNSC's current officers and clerks, adding, "at his first day ‎on the job, [Jalili] ordered security guards not to allow some of Larijani's officers to enter the ‎building." ‎

Another report surfaced in the past few days and was eventually dismissed by an official ‎government spokesperson. The report stated that Hojattoleslam Hessameddin Ashna had been ‎appointed as the new spokesperson for the SNSC. Ashna was quoted as having written on his ‎personal blog, "I think Mr. Larijani's resignation has simple reasons. Until now he thought his ‎boss was the supreme leader, but he just realized that the president is also his boss." ‎